Liszt Sonate

EMI Classics is proud to release the complete EMI recordings of one of the most well-known pianists, Samson François. This exclusive 36-CD box set includes all his early recordings that were mainly devoted to Frédéric Chopin. The height of Samson's art is probably to be found in the ballades (recorded between 26 and 28 October 1954, and first issued as an immensely successful 10" LP) and the dazzling interpretation of the nocturnes (recorded in May and June 1966). In the ballades and the nocturnes Samson establishes an allembracing color with the aid of the loud pedal, although he modulates its power and creates a rainbow effect through the highly skilled, yet quite unpredictable use of the soft pedal.

Russia is vast, and so is this 25-disc tribute to the great piano school of Russia-from the long-famous icons to the more recent inheritors of this ineffably proud tradition. Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lazar Berman and many others display their subtly various approaches to phrasing and timbre as they perform the great works of the Russian canon and composers across Europe. Monumental works like the first piano concertos of both Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev sit alongside intimate salon pieces like Tchaikovsky's The Seasons and rarely heard works such as the preludes of Kabalevsky. Many of these rapturously beautiful performances are rare and have never been available on CD!

Russia is vast, and so is this 25-disc tribute to the great piano school of Russia-from the long-famous icons to the more recent inheritors of this ineffably proud tradition. Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lazar Berman and many others display their subtly various approaches to phrasing and timbre as they perform the great works of the Russian canon and composers across Europe. Monumental works like the first piano concertos of both Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev sit alongside intimate salon pieces like Tchaikovsky's The Seasons and rarely heard works such as the preludes of Kabalevsky. Many of these rapturously beautiful performances are rare and have never been available on CD!

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was an Italian classical pianist. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century.